The following were equally important reasons why Stalin was able to hold on to power in the Soviet Union: The purges and show trials, The secret police, Propaganda and the cult of personality, and Stalin's economic policies - Explain

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

The following were equally important reasons why Stalin was able to hold on to power in the Soviet Union: * The purges and show trials * The secret police * Propaganda and the cult of personality * Stalin's economic policies Explain how far you agree with this statement The above were all important reasons why Stalin was able to hold on to power in the Soviet Union. In the 1930s Stalin consolidated his position as "Supreme Dictator" of the Soviet Union and he maintained this position using many different methods, the main two were controlling the people by terror and having control of and manipulating their ideas. Also Stalin's economic policies were extremely successful, had he not had these successes he would not have been able to hold on to power. When Stalin emerged as leader in 1928 the USSR was a backward country and lacked in industry. Stalin however managed to transform the country into a modern, powerful, industrial nation and he did this in several ways. Stalin wanted to protect the country from foreign invasion and protect it from other dictators by creating a strong industry. He did this by three main methods: 5 year plans, collectivisation and the building of showpieces of Soviet achievement. The 5 year plans on the whole were very successful and even though sometimes the unrealistic targets were not met amazing achievements ...read more.

Middle

The most famous incident was in 1934 when there was talk of slowing industrialisation down and appointing someone else as leader and Sergei Kirov put forward his views, shortly afterwards Kirov was found shot outside his office. This is an example of how Stalin went to any length to ensure his position as leader. Between 1935 and 1938 Stalin expelled many members who he deemed "unreliable" and he made the central committee send letters to branches all over the USSR instructing them to do likewise, after being sacked from the party many were then arrested by the NKVD; this was called the Great Purge. By doing all of this Stalin showed he was doing something about people who were supposedly threatening the state. He publicised this by Show Trials which were put on for the most important party members and they were broadcasted nationwide. The "Trial of sixteen" involved Zinoviev and Kamenev, all were accused of involvement in a conspiracy to overthrow the government organised by Trotsky; Stalin's greatest rival. Many did not believe every word of the confession that the accused made in the show trial (most made them in the hope of saving their families) but they could not speak out at the threat of being killed themselves. ...read more.

Conclusion

He was treated in such a messianic way that it would have been difficult for people to doubt him. Stalin also rewrote history; he made himself out to have been very close to Lenin, he changed photographs and paintings and inserted himself in next to Lenin, who was treated like a god in Soviet history. This encouraged people to support him as they saw him as Lenin's right hand man, someone who Lenin admired which thus inclined people to admire Stalin. He was able to get away with this as many people who were around in that period had died and those who could still remember were too afraid to speak out. In conclusion all the above were equally important reasons why Stalin was able to hold on to leadership of the Soviet Union. He was able to manipulate people's thoughts and ideas through propaganda and the cult of personality which encouraged people to think of him as a messianic figure. With the added help of his secret police he was able to wipe out any of his opposition. The introduction of the purges and show trials justified his actions as he was seen to be protecting the state from attack and crisis, thus making it more secure for the people. However had he not been able to industrialise the Soviet Union in the dramatic way he did it is unlikely he would have had control for as long as he did. ...read more.

Absenteeism was defined as more than one day's absence without good reason. 'Show trials' was what workers were put on if they damaged the advanced technology that was given to them. The peasants mainly made mistakes as they were quite unskilled.

These differences were made more bitter by the need to remedy massive problems associated with the five year plans. Ordzhonikidze, commissar for heavy industry since 1932, believed that industrial targets should be more realistic. He resisted attempts by the secret police to make factory managers the scapegoats for problems in the economy.

NATO - this not only gained support against the West, but also helped to unite a dividing sphere. This does not prove to be of any worth (at this time) as in the following year, Hungary has a revolution. There main aim was to get rid of Rakosi - a

gained better housing for their families, free holidays and even cash prizes. There was the other side of the coin though was the fear, the fear of what power Stalin had and that he was not afraid to use it to get his way.

The countryside was affected more than cities, but 120,000 died in Kharkiv, 40,000 in Krasnodar and 20,000 in Stavropol." -Wikipedia.org 13:20, 20th January 2006. This statement illustrates the enormous extent to which collectivization was a human tragedy. Due to being taken from wikipedia the legitimacy of this source is questionable as wikipedia can be edited by anyone.

We must make this distance in ten. Either we do it, or they will crush us'2. In order to ensure rapid industrialisation at a time of labour shortages, harsh legislations were passed which enforced labour discipline and prevented labourers from leaving their jobs.

What's more, they were also asked to grow crops such as flax for industrial purposes rather than grain to feed themselves. Stalin openly roared that all the peasants were to adapt collectivisation but yet realised that he would face